NASA astronauts went into space to install a solar panel

Astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg walked into space Friday aboard the International Space Station (ISS) to install the iROSA solar array.

The exit began as the space suits switched to autonomous power at 09:25 a.m. U.S. East Coast time. During the work, which is expected to last about seven hours, the astronauts will install the fifth of six solar panels. If they do not have enough time to install this time, they will be able to complete the work during the next spacewalk, which is planned for next week.

NASA has previously noted that the existing solar panels on the ISS are working fine, but there are signs of wear and tear: some of them were installed back in 2000. So far, the space agency intends to deploy six panels iROSA. The mass of each reaches nearly 340 kg, which will increase the capacity of the power system of the station from 160 kW to 215 kW. Two of the panels were installed in June 2021. The third and fourth were installed in late December 2022.

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